The Supreme Court

Sopel's Soapbox

"The Supreme Court ends up having the last word on a lot of issues that people care deeply about that affect their religious beliefs and moral beliefs," says law professor Kermit Roosevelt III at the University of Pennsylvania. This week Jon Sopel finds about the court's influence over America, the appointment of a new Chief Justice and who the candidate is likely to be.

Social issues such as gun control and immigration reform are decided by the Supreme Court as the highest judicial authority in the US, it interprets the constitution and can undo past decisions made by the Supreme Courts including those on abortion.

There's a vacancy on the panel and other members are elderly. It is now President-elect Donald Trump who will be choosing the next candidates.

Also on the podcast is Claudia from Bolivia who moved to the US when she was 11 and Kevin Johnson, Dean of Davis School of Law, who talk about the immigration policy, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).